Prohibit golf course watering with treated water except for greens and tee boxes (The Shores Country Club uses raw water from the City of Dallas and their watering will not be restricted by the City of Flockwall)

Prohibit the irrigation of landscape using treated water

PRESS RELEASE

Stage 4 Conservation Possible April 1st

May Prohibit Most Outdoor Watering

January 4, 2011

The City anticipates that the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) will be requesting that all of its member and customer water systems initiate Stage 4 of the Water Conservation and Drought Contingency and Emergency Response Plan on or before April 1, 2012. Under Stage 4, the City will accelerate efforts to reduce water use and urge residents to conserve every drop of water.

Among other possible provisions to be implemented, it is expected that Stage 4 will include the prohibition of commercial and residential landscape watering except foundations and trees may be watered for 2 hours on any day with a hand-held hose, a soaker hose, or a dedicated zone using a drip irrigation system.

NTMWD will likely initiate Stage 4 as a result of the following:

The temporary loss of Lake Texoma (22.5% of our total raw water supply)

Lake Lavon having only 51.25% of its capacity

The probability in January or early February NTMWD’s Lake Chapman will be below the level where water can be pumped

The continued drought conditions

These conditions would result in a loss of 40% of the District’s total water supply.

Record heat and record drought have drained local lakes. Texas experienced its driest 12 month period on record from October 2010 through September 2011. One hundred percent of the state has been designated as experiencing some form of drought, with most counties facing ‘exceptional’ drought conditions. Record drought and record heat coupled with expanding water restrictions in many cities forces a shift from ‘How much water do we want?’ to ‘How much water do we need?’

It is likely that Stage 4 will include some or all of the following provisions:

Prohibit commercial and residential landscape watering, except foundations and trees may be watered for up to 2 hours on any day with a hand-held hose, a soaker hose, or a dedicated zone using a drip irrigation system.

ET/Smart controllers and drip irrigation systems used for landscape irrigation are not exempt from this requirement

Prohibit the irrigation of new landscaping using treated water

Prohibit washing of vehicles except as necessary for health, sanitation, or safety reasons

Prohibit golf course watering with treated water except for greens and tee boxes (The Shores Country Club uses raw water from the City of Dallas and their watering will not be restricted by the City of Rockwall)

Prohibit construction permits for private pools. Pools already permitted may be completed and filled with water. Existing private and public pools may add water to maintain pool levels but may not be drained and refilled

If NTMWD has imposed a reduction in water available to Member Cities and Customers, impose the same percent reduction on wholesale customers

Avoid plantings that require water to establish and sustain growth until drought restrictions have been lifted.

As the details of Stage 4 are finalized, more information will be provided to customers.

As of December 22th, Lake Lavon was 51.52% full and Lake Chapman was only 32.25% full. The following is the amount of rain needed to fill the reservoirs:

6-9″ of rain in one month

9-12″ of rain in three months

16-20″ of rain in six months

Since Lake Texoma represents almost one quarter of the North Texas raw water supply, NTMWD continues to work with all state and federal agencies involved to safely restore the Texoma water supply while minimizing the transfer of zebra mussels into Lake Lavon and the Trinity River Basin. Although zebra mussels are not harmful to humans and do not contaminate the water, they do attach to pipes that pump water into water treatment facilities causing increased operating and maintenance costs. The District is also working to secure additional water supply from several other sources.

Extending the NTMWD’s water supply during Stage 4 through the efficient use of existing water resources is crucial to meeting the long-term water needs of the NTMWD’s Member Cities and Customers.